The war of 1812 Flashcards
1
Q
How long did the war of 1812 last?
A
2.5 years
2
Q
What does highly contested over who won the ultimate winner war mean?
A
This means there is often debate over who truly “won” the war.
3
Q
What was a major event that took place in 1775 in the U.S.?
A
The American Revolution.
4
Q
Who was the American Revolution fought between?
A
The Loyalists (supported British rule) and Patriots (opposed British rule).
5
Q
Who won the American revolution, what did they get, and when?
A
The Patriots won and established American independence in 1776
6
Q
Leading up to the war of 1812 what other conflict were the British faces?
A
The French.
7
Q
Who was leading the French in 1812?
A
Napoleon Bonaparte was leading the French in 1812.
8
Q
Why was the British having conflict with the french a benefit for the Americans?
A
The Americans saw this as an opportunity to gain control of North America.
9
Q
What method did the British use to gain strength on their navy?
A
Impressment.
10
Q
What does Impressment mean?
A
The act of forcing individuals to serve in the Navy, with or without notice.
11
Q
What were the groups of people who enforced impressment called?
A
Press Gangs.
12
Q
How did Americans feel about Impressment?
A
They were absolutely against this process.
They viewed it as an offence to national pride and personal freedom.
13
Q
What did the British press gangs do that made matters even worse?
A
The press gangs began using impressment against Americans, forcing them to work on British ships.
14
Q
What did the Americans believe?
A
They believed that it was important for people to have the opportunity to choose their own path in life.
15
Q
What does deserters mean?
A
Leaving the military without permition.
16
Q
What word is very similar to the word “impressment?”
A
Conscription.
17
Q
What did the Americans do during the time where the British were caught up with the french?
A
They pushed west of the 13 Colonies, spreading their culture throughout as much of the continent as they could.
18
Q
Who was the president of America before, during and slightly after the War Of 1812?
A
James Madison.
19
Q
What was James Madison known for?
A
Madison was a president known far more for his intelligence than his military prowess and strength.
20
Q
What was Madison not?
A
He was not a forceful man who strongly imposed his ideas upon others.
21
Q
What was Madison’s most notable strength?
A
He had excellent ideas and visions for the government.
22
Q
What was Madison’s most notable weaknesses?
A
The lack of confidence when it came to making war-related decisions
23
Q
What were these war supporters called?
A
War hawks?
24
Q
What did the war hawks demmand?
A
Action in armed conflict and put pressure on Madison to support this fight.
25
Who were the Americans lead by?
General William Hull.
26
What did the war hawks believe?
They believed that America, while less than 40 years old, was a strong country that needed to be stronger.
27
When did Madison declare war on Britain?
June 12, 1812.
28
Was was cause #1 of Madison declaring war on Britain?
Forcing American soldiers, who weren’t even British, to join the British Navy.
29
What was cause #2 of Madison declaring war on Britain?
America’s desire to expand West and North and into Canada. Expanding north into Canada would cause conflict with the British settlers in the area.
30
What was cause #3 of Madison declaring war on Britain?
America was helping France during their war with Britain by sending supplies to them on ships, supporting Napoleon. Britain blocked all American shipments into France. This interfered with American trade, therefore affecting the economy.
31
How were people aware that Madison had declared war againsed the British?
A notice was posted by the police in Quebec City.
32
Who is General William Hull?
A high ranking officer in the American military.
33
What did Hull believe?
That the colonists in British North America would not resist the American invasion. And
34
What did Hull figure?
That the colonists in Upper Canada were caught in the middle and Americans needed to ‘help them’
35
What did Hull plan?
He planned to lead a major invasion into British North America.
36
When were the Americans beginning to build a heavy presence near what is now the American/Canadian border (near modern day Windsor, Ontario)?
In August of 1812.
37
Who fought on behalf of the British/Canadians and aimed to put a stop to American invasions?
Chief Tecumseh.
38
Who was Chief Tecumseh an important member of?
The Shawnee First Nations.
39
What did Chief Tecumseh continuously experience?
American invasion attempts and had been battling against the Americans for decades.
40
What did chief Tecumseh know?
That the Americans would stop at nothing to take over British North America.
41
Who was Tecumseh?
He was a fearless leader with a vision that involved defending his land from the Americans.
42
What was Tecumseh good at?
Rallying his men together in defense of attacking nations.
43
What did Tecumseh became aware of?
American General William Hull’s intention to cross the Detroit/Windsor border and invade the area.
44
What was Tecumseh able to do?
Retrieve important intelligence/information about American attack plans. The Americans were somewhat careless with their information.
45
What was something very important that Tecumseh knew?
That the Americans were waiting in Detroit and Tecumseh now knew their location and some of their plans to attack British North America.
46
Who did Tecumseh need to work with in order to stop the Americans?
The British.
47
Why would it be easy to convince the British to team up with Tecumseh?
He now had valuable information that the British would be interested in.
48
Who was Isaac Brock?
A British war general.
49
What did Tecumseh do with Isaac Brock?
They formed an important relationship.
50
What did both Isaac and Tecumseh know?
That the First Nations and British could help one another.
51
Where was Isaac born and where was he sent to fight?
He was born in Britain and was sent to “Canada” to defend against the Americans.
52
What did Isaac want to succeed in?
In British North America to gain positive status in Europe.
53
What was not Isaac's final goal?
Winning the war of 1812, it was more of a stepping stone to achieve further greatness.
54
What was Isaac's real goal?
His goal was to go back to Great Britain having proved himself in Canada and fight in major European battles and wars.
55
What was Isaac specifically good at?
Isaac was a particularly strong defensive specialist.
56
What did Isaac have in common with Tecumseh?
He, like Tecumseh, was skilled at keeping the Americans out from Canada.
57
What was Isaac's priority?
Strengthening Canada’s defenses.
58
Once Brock & Tecumseh teamed up what did they use to their advantage?
Both men used their skills and the skills of their men (First Nations abilities on land and British weaponry/defenses) and worked together in an attempt to stop the Americans.
59
What was American General William Hull’s greatest fear?
The unpredictability of the First Nations warriors.
60
What did Tecumseh do with William Hulls fear?
Tecumseh benefited from this information and planned to aggressively stand up to the Americans and intimidate them.
61
What did Tecumseh and Isaac do with the information they received about Hull’s attack plans?
The two decided to write a letter to Hull threatening the Americans.
62
Which of them wrote the letter and what did it say?
Brock himself wrote the letter, which basically said that he had the support of all his British men and Tecumseh’s warriors as well.
63
What did this letter do to Hull?
This played into Hull’s fear that the First Nations peoples being “savage-like” and unpredictable.
64
What happened when time for a potential battle came?
Hull and his American men waved the white flag, retreated and surrendered.
65
What did Tecumseh and Brock, working together cause?
An important “Canadian” victory.
66
What did Brock and Tecumseh’s victory become known as?
The Capture Of Detroit and is one of the few documented moments where British and First Nations Peoples’ successfully worked together.
67
How is Tecumseh Honoured now?
Tecumseh is a street in downtown Toronto and is also a street in Windsor. Chief Tecumseh has gotten far more credit in recent tellings of the War Of 1812.
68
How did Tecumseh die?
He was killed at the Battle of Thames in 1813 near London, Ontario.
69
How did Isaac die?
Brock eventually died in the War of 1812 here in Canada.
70
Where and Which battle did Isaac die in?
He died during a battle called the Battle At Queenston Heights in October of 1812. This was located near modern day Niagara Falls.
71
What did Isaac want to be known as vs how he is actually known as.
While he wanted to become a European legend, he wound up becoming more of a Canadian war hero due to the strong defensive army he built.
72
How is Isaac Honoured now?
Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario is named after him.
73
What was the 1st significant battle?
The battle of York
74
When was the battle of York?
April 27, 1813.
75
What was the Result of the battle of York?
U.S victory.
76
What navy general were the Americans lead by, and what did he do?
Isaac Chauncey, advanced towards the British Fort at York with bayonets and initially killed around 150 British soldiers.
77
What was the unexpected occurrence when the Americans nearly reached Fort York?
Fort York was defended by a man named Tito Lelierve.
78
Who was Tito?
A veteran of the French army, who was actually now fighting for the British at York.
79
What was Tito's task?
His task was to defend York and keep British weaponry out of American hands.
80
Why would keeping weaponry out of American hands be close to impossible?
The Americans were heavily advancing and badly outnumbering the British.
81
What did Lelierve do after received a clear, direct order: stop the Americans at all costs?
After luring in the Americans, Lelierve, himself, moved away from the fort but ordered his men to set a fuse and ignite a blast. This blast killed nearly 100 people in an instant (both British and Americans).
82
What did the Americans think about Lelierve's act?
The Americans were furious after what Lelierve did. They came back against the British in York and unleashed revenge not only on British soldiers, but everyday civilians in York.
83
How did the British respond to the American's revenge?
They British surrendered.
84
What did the British do over time?
Regain and re-occupy York and built a new parliament building
85
What happened when the American's tried to recapture the city a year and a half later?
They were unsuccessful due to the British building way better defenses around the city and water in particular.
86
What was the 2nd significant battle? Where and when was it?
The Burning of Washington DC
Location: Washington, DC
Date: August 24, 1814
Result: British North American Victory
87
What was the Burning of Washington DC
This was a revenge plot created by the British against the Americans for what took place at the Battle of York over a year earlier. The British wanted to draw the American navy further away from Upper and Lower Canada, so they increased their naval presence near Maryland and Washington, DC. Washington was surprisingly weakly defended much like York was in 1813.
88
What did the British do after burning down the White House?
The British did not feel the need to occupy the city and left the next day. They felt they had accomplished the revenge that they set out for.
89
At the time what was usually the woman's jobs?
Took care of homes, their children and provided crucial support to soldiers in camps and on the battlefields.
90
What were thousands of British North American women and children forced to do?
They were forced from their homes including an estimated 4500 First Nations women and children.
91
What would solders often do to the homes of the woman and the children?
Soldiers would often raid their homes and in some cases, would hold them hostage.
92
Where was Laura Secord born, where did she move latter on, and how old was she when she moved?
Laura Secord was a middle class woman who was born in Massachusetts, but moved to Queenston (5-10 km from Niagara Falls) when she was 20.
93
Who was Laura's husband and what was his job?
Her husband, James Secord, served under Isaac Brock and he continued to support the British North Americans working as an officer after Brock died.
94
What happened in June of 1813?
The Americans invaded Queenston and aggressively forced their way into many homes in the area, including Laura Secord's.
95
What did the Americans that invaded into Laura's house demand?
The Americans demanded to be fed and essentially took over Laura Secord's home and held her, her husband and their kids more or less at hostage.
96
What were the Americans that invaded into Laura's house planning?
The Americans were planning an attack on a place called Beaver Dams (about 15 min from Niagara Falls).
97
Who ran Beaver Dams?
A British Officer named Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon.
98
What did Laura overhear?
The Americans were careless and especially overconfident in talking about their aggressive plans, and Laura Secord overheard them talking and plotting their attack.
99
What was wrong with Laura's husband?
Her husband James was wounded from a previous battle and therefore could not do much. So, Laura took matters into her own hands.
100
What did Laura do after hearing the Americans plan their attack on Beaver Dams?
Laura trekked around 32 km towards Beaver Dams to warn the British soldiers that the attack was coming. Around 500 American Soldiers were expected to attack Fitzgibbon and his British troops.
101
How did the British feel when the attack came on June 24, 1813?
Very confident.
102
Who helped Laura stop the attack and forced the Americans to turn back and surrender?
First Nations Haudenosanee warriors and specifically, a 16 year old First Nations warrior named John Tutela.
103
What did Laura's heroric act lead to?
British victory.
104
When did Laura really receive credit?
After she died where she became known as this courageous, historical figure from the War of 1812.
105
What are 4 ways we remember Laura today?
* There is a chocolate company named after her (they also make ice cream!)
*There is a postcard with her picture on it
* Her portrait was put up in Parliament
* Her home in Queenston, Ontario is now a museum.
106
What was the war between he french and British called?
The Napoleonic War.
107
Where did the The Napoleonic War end?
In Europe.
108
After the The Napoleonic War ended where did the British put most of their attention?
Britain could now focus its attention on protecting “Canada” and possibly attacking the United States in North America (like the Burning of Washington.)
109
What did the end of the Napoleonic War bring?
The end of impressment and restrictions on American trade.
110
What were the Americans looking for?
They were looking for a way to end the conflict quickly towards the end of 1814 after the Burning of Washington.
111
What did the Americans finally realize?
The Americans finally realized that they would never be able to take over all of Canada. They began to switch their focus and wanted to focus more on building up American lands that had been won during the American Revolution.
112
What had the British successfully protected?
“Canada” from American invasion.
113
How did the war actually end?
A treaty.
114
When was the Treaty of Ghent signed? And what did it do?
December 24th, 1814 which officially ended the War Of 1812.
115
where was the treaty of Ghent signed?
It was signed in Belgium, a neutral country.
116
What did the treaty of Ghent do?
The Treaty of Ghent basically returned everything to the way it was before the war.
117
What did both the British and the Americans think after sighing the treaty?
That they were the ones who had won the war.
118
Who fought in nearly every single battle during the war?
Members of the Shawnee, Haudenousaunee Six Nations, Ojibwe, Dakota and Mississauga Nations.
119
who ultimately suffered the most losses from the war?
FNP.
120
What did the FNP lose in the war?
They not only would lose land that they were promised, but also, their status. They would lose the rights promised to them in the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
121
What did the British stop doing after the war ended?
After the war ended, the British stopped creating military alliances with the First Nations Peoples.
122
Who were about to be neglected more and more leading to various difficulties in the future? And an example?
FNP Example: The eventual introduction of residential schools, which would not take place until the 19th/20th century.
123
Were the First Nations given any representation in the Treaty of Ghent?
No... There were 0 First Nations members present during the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.
124
What did the FNP lose after the war?
The First Nations Peoples lost their military and economic allies in North America. The promises made by the British to secure land for them were completely abandoned.
125
Who said
“Our ancestors did contribute to building this nation, and it should be recognized and acknowledged. But it’s also a story about betrayal, too. The British and the United States signed a peace treaty on the other side of the ocean – in Europe, in Belgium — and the First Nations, of course, weren’t there to represent themselves. And all of the promises made at the beginning, like the creation of a homeland state for First Nations, that was gone. The United States pushed the negotiations to eliminate those promises. And the British abandoned their allies.”
Chief Darcy Bear of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation.
126
Who won the war from a modern, Canadian perspective?
If we had lost the war, Canada would have become part of the United States.
Instead, our borders became more defined, established and secure.
